03 September 2015

Why World Champion Max Euwe Played the Slav Defense

I've posted previously here Why I Play the Slav, but it's also worth reading GM Bryan Smith's article on Chess.com on why World Champion Max Euwe played it in his matches against Alexander Alekhine.  It's not a completely one-sided tale, as Euwe did not fully rely on it as Black and also played against it (with success) as White.  This fact helps reinforce the idea that true opening mastery is about deep understanding of positions, not an emotional commitment to your chosen side.  It's also worth noting that Slav players (like myself) doing their own research into the opening with today's databases will undoubtedly run across games from Euwe in still-critical lines.  It's nice to see lessons from the 20th century still applicable to today's games.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Your comments and ideas on chess training and this site are welcomed.

Please note that moderation is turned on as an anti-spam measure; your comment will be published as soon as possible, if it is not spam.